Mr Hastie said he had spent the days since the fire erupted on the ground assisting residents where he could, but the true extent of the physical damage could only be seen from the air.

"It’s very bad and we could clearly see the damage; to houses, property pasture," he said.

"What hit home was the indiscriminate nature of the fire and how obvious it was that it paid no regard to containment lines or firebreaks.

“When you look down, you see a lot of houses that are scorched all the way around, but the houses themselves are untouched, and is a testament to the local volunteers and career firefighters who saved so many houses.”

Mr Hastie said reconstruction was going to be a massive job.

“For the people of Yarloop especially, it’s just wait and see at the moment,” he said.

“It’s going to take time for them to grieve and that process has started with them returning to Yarloop on buses.”